What's Your Name?
Naoki moved quickly through the hallways. She hadn’t wanted this assignment. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to treat the patient she just didn’t want to screw up. Her patient of all people was the recently deceased and now living Godime Kazekage. Naoki didn’t like having to confront those in powerful positions since her transition. Now she had to treat the most powerful person in all of Suna. Knocking lightly she waited a moment and then entered the room. She could feel the slight pulses of the ANBU that were watching the Kazekage diligently but it only made Naoki more uneasy. Carefully approaching the bed Naoki assessed her patient. For the moment he seemed to be sleeping restlessly. His clothes, though nice, were dusty from attending the funeral of Lady Chiyo earlier that day. Naoki smiled slightly; the Kazekage seemed less intimidating this way and more like a patient. However she needed him to wake up so she could make her diagnosis. A knock on the door alerted Naoki to two more people. When they entered she immediately recognized them as the Kazekage’s brother and sister Kankuro and Temari. Both were well trained jounin and forces to be reckoned with, however at the moment Kankuro seemed to be comically towing Temari into the room. The older boy’s gaze rested on the form of his younger brother and he visibly relaxed at the peaceful state of the red head.
Naoki looked away distractedly as she remembered the last time she had seen Kankuro had been after their mission to guard a family relocating to Suna. If she remembered correctly only the young daughter of the small family made it to Suna alive. She doubted that Kankuro would remember the medic nin who treated his injuries and severe chakra exhaustion. She had been a relatively good medic at that point but nowhere near qualified to treat him alone. No one else had been willing. She remembered that he had fallen asleep on her at one point. It had made it so much easier to heal him after that. When she had finished she gently woke him and told him he could leave. Grinning crookedly he had nodded thanks and went immediately to check on his sister.
Since then Naoki had seen him a few times around Suna but she had been buried in her work. So much so that she usually didn’t get out of the hospital or green room. Putting her mind to the task at hand she decided that it would be easier to get the Kazekage into new clean clothing before proceeding. Just as she got Kankuro help her sit the Kazekage up; sea foam green eyes snapped open and made her freeze in her tracks. “Kazekagesama…” she started and then Kankuro thankfully interrupted. He seemed to smooth things over. Leaving the brothers to their own devices Naoki observed as the Kazekage changed. His muscles were stiff and if the shivers were any indication he was having cold chills. Her contact with his skin earlier confirmed a light fever. Closely checking his skin Naoki found what she was looking for when the Kazekage was changing shirts. Quietly, so as not to annoy him again, Naoki asked about the rash. Her suspicions were confirmed when she examined the blisters with gloves.
Quickly and efficiently she explained the situation and then went off to get the Kazekage’s medication. She didn’t notice the look Kankuro was giving her and the annoyed air around Temari. Naoki went to the green house and soon found the herbs she was looking for. The green house was her project and she often spent the night tending to her precious, fragile plants. Many of them were difficult to cultivate in Suna but thankfully due to her skill with plants Naoki was able to successfully cultivate them. She monitored their conditions as one might monitor a sickly child’s and she almost never let anyone else tend to them. Recently she had decided to allow two other medic shinobi to help with her green house. In her absence they had let the Konoha nin procure her antidote there. She knew it was a little odd but she had worked so hard for so long to build up her collection of herbs, she was unwilling to risk their health. Several of the plants were hybrids crossed with native plants of Suna to make them able to bare the Suna heat a little better but in most cases this made them less effective and therefore the medicines required more of the plant to be level of potency needed. So to acquire the correct amount Naoki had to grow more of the plants so they would have the amount they would need. It was a delicate process that required the patience of a priest. Luckily patience was one of the traits that Naoki had in spades. Mixing the medicine with precision and speed Naoki hummed as she went about her business. She always liked being in the green house. It made her feel needed. Since she had become second in command at the hospital it was hard for her to spend the amount of time she wanted there. Hence the two other medic nin she had allowed to assist her after extensive training. Naoki was technically a jounin but she never liked to acknowledge that. She was exceptional at fighting but she much preferred healing damage than causing it. She was so skilled at healing that the shinobi in charge of the hospital chose her as his second in command. It was a great honor but prevented her from being on the council because she had to attend the hospital when her superior was called to the meetings.
When she was finished mixing herbs she quickly returned to the Kazekage’s room. This time when she knocked Temari answered and smiled. “He’s fallen asleep again but if you tell me I’ll make sure he’s taken care of.” Naoki smiled gently and walked in with the medicine. “I will have to give him one shot but the rest can be taken orally. The tea mix is to help with headaches if they develop. The fever and shakes should go away if he takes this two times a day, once in the morning and once in the evening for five days. The blistering and pain will be taken care of with the other capsules, while the shot should help overall with his symptoms.” Temari nodded and wondered if she should have taken notes when Naoki handed her a small sheet of paper with all the instructions. “Send for me if you need anything, it will save time if he gets worse. The medicine I’ve given him should get him back on his feet quickly if he rests and takes the required doses.” “Thank you.” Temari said and genuinely smiled at the medic. When she had first seen the girl Temari had been skeptical of how good she was at her job but now she was fully convinced. However she still didn’t realize the small medic was second only to Diachi, the head of the hospital.
Walking slowly Naoki approached the Kazekage’s bed where Kankuro was sitting by him to comfort him whenever it seemed as if Gaara were in pain. Trying not to disturb either brother Naoki took her syringe and injected her own concoction of medication into the Kazekage. Hopefully her little booster would help their general get back to normal faster. Smiling Naoki exited the room and left the sand siblings to their privacy. She was glad she could help in whatever way. When she returned to the hospital she was kept busy. She only got a few nights off duty and tonight was not one of them. Toward the much earlier hours of the morning someone came to her with information that Kankuro had come in with a light injury. Concerned Naoki went and met the puppeteer in the small examination room he had been given. “Are you alright?” Naoki asked. Kankuro startled, he had been dozing off when Naoki had walked in. “Fine, just need a quick heal and I’ll be out of your way.” He mumbled before looking up and realizing who it was. When he saw it was Naoki he looked shocked and then grinned. “Do you ever sleep?” He asked jovially. Naoki motioned away the other medic that had come in to treat the elder sand sibling and moved toward him to heal his bruise. She normally didn’t tend to anything that wasn’t critical on the night shift so she wouldn’t waste her chakra if she needed it later for more traumatic injuries but a small face wound wouldn’t take that much from her… and she was glad for the company. Kankuro seemed like a relatively nice guy to talk to. He always seemed like a smart ass but the way he cared for his brother was a softer side that she had rarely seen. “No,” she joked. For some reason she didn’t feel the need to stay quiet when she was around the brunette. Her reserved attitude was an attractive attribute to her superior considering that he didn’t really like people. So quiet people were the only ones he could bare to be around.
Kankuro was happily surprised that he was going to be treated by the green haired medic that had taken care of Gaara. She was cute and capable, a rare combination. “So what happened?” She asked softly, focusing on Kankuro’s wound more than his response… or so it seemed. “I ahh fell into something; such a klutz, right?” Kankuro said jokingly. He really didn’t want to make it seem like his little brother had taken a swing at him. Naoki raised an eyebrow. “Really?” She asked, “you don’t seem the type.” Now it was Kankuro’s turn to raise an eyebrow. What kind of type did he seem to her? “Well you’re perceptive. I was helping Gaara sit up when I accidentally touched his blisters and he reacted. Hence the table mark.” “Have you had chicken pox before?” She asked quickly. When he nodded Naoki smiled and looked Kankuro in the eye. “That’s good. If you hadn’t, exposure to the rash would have caused it… I’m glad you aren’t seriously injured but why come in for such a small wound?” “Well I don’t want Gaara to feel guilty about it.” “Why should he feel guilty? He’s sick and reacted without knowing. I doubt he’ll even remember it considering how ill he is.” Kankuro shrugged, “It’s the kinda guy he is. It’s not that he takes all the blame on himself but whenever he doesn’t have control over something he thinks he should’ve he ends up feeling guilty about it.” Naoki straighten and smiled at Kankuro again. “Well if that’s the case then we’ll just have to make sure this bruise is gone by morning.” “Really?” Kankuro questioned. Kankuro was startled by her smile. It looked natural on her while on others it would look forced. For so many of the people Kankuro held dear it was hard or at least rare for them to smile. Gaara only smiled when something drastic (like his death and subsequent resurrection) happened (and it was more of an astonished happiness than a smile). Temari smiled when she thought of four things, Kankuro, Gaara (the new and improved version), their mother, and (as much as Kankuro hated to admit it) Shikamaru Nara of Konoha. Baki never smiled. Never. The day Baki smiled Kankuro swore would be the end of the world. Yet this woman smiled as if it were the normal thing to do.
Kankuro was entranced and almost missed her explanation of how he would get rid of his bruise. She searched her white coat pockets for a moment before pulling out a jar of ointment. Opening it she smeared it liberally on Kankuro’s bruise and then put a gauze bandage on it. Putting the jar back in her pocket she looked over her work. “There.” She said, smiling again. “Just keep that on till morning and by then it should be at least a faint yellow mark if not completely gone.” Kankuro nodded gratefully and just as Naoki turned to leave he spoke up, “I’m sorry but what’s your name?” Naoki blushed and turned around. All this time and she had never introduced herself, it was embarrassing. “Naoki, my name is Naoki and don’t forget to call me if you need something Kankurosama.” Quickly Naoki walked out of the room and back to her office. She hadn’t meant to use so much of her special ointment on Kankuro’s small bruise but he seemed so desperate to make sure his brother didn’t see the wound. Sighing Naoki started to look over the paperwork that had piled on her desk in her absence. Now it was time for her to get back to running a hospital…
Naoki had stayed buried in her work until morning. There had been a few serious cases that had come in throughout the night but nothing that she couldn’t delegate to someone else. She had ended up doing a few more minor healings just so that her staff wasn’t overworked on the small things. Besides she always enjoyed healing children. They were always so grateful when she was done and she loved the looks on their faces when she gave them candy and sent them on their way. Just as she was about to pack up her office and head home her boss came into her office. Standing quickly and spilling a few papers on the way Naoki looked at Daichi and waited for him to address her. He didn’t like interruptions, in fact he normally didn’t like any form of talking at all. It was surprising that despite his abhorrence of people he was the best medic there was in Suna. “Naoki, I need you to treat an informant being held in one of the interrogation rooms. It’s a level 1 confident so I expect you to keep your mouth shut.” Naoki almost gasped, she wasn’t cleared for level 1 information and if the patient was incoherent while she was treating them they could say something that she wasn’t supposed to hear. “Sir, I’m not…” Naoki started nervously. She rarely ever contradicted Diachi and it almost never turned out well. Daichi looked at her annoyed and interrupted, “I know full well you aren’t cleared for this sort of thing. Quite honestly I’m the only medic in Suna that is. However the Kazekage in his infinite wisdom called a meeting of the jounin council soon after he gave the order for the informant to be given medical help while they gave their mission report. And since I cannot send you to my meeting for me no matter how much I would like to I must send you to the patient instead.” With that Diachi stormed out of Naoki’s office and continued on his way to the meeting.
Stunned Naoki hurried and gathered her supplies. This wasn’t her first time going down the dungeons and Naoki doubted it would be her last but she hated it every time. No matter who the shinobi was or what kind of enemy they were they were always most vulnerable to her. Many times they had tried to take advantage of her seemingly small stature and she had been forced to cause more harm before she finished their treatment. Their desperate actions only made her pity them more. At least time it was an informant and she would be allowed to treat her patient further after the report was finished. Once Naoki had hurried down the familiar stairs the guards let her pass into the lower tunnels and pointed her to the first room. Knocking, Naoki slowly opened the door to the room and was met with a masked shinobi and one of Suna’s interrogation squad members. “We were just waiting on you.” The interrogation squad member said. He had on gray and red Suna gear that Naoki had seen splashed with blood more often than she cared to remember. Naoki walked in carefully and set her bag down on the table. Her patient with the coyote mask was already seated and started to give her report once Naoki had started her treatment.
The first thing Naoki did was soak the bandages with water. They had been dried on with blood and although it was good that the bleeding had stopped in most places the dried blood made it hard to take the bandages off without reopening the wounds. Ignoring the questioning Naoki pulled out her medical scissors and started snipping away at the old gauze. She quickly removed it and started to inspect the wounds. Only a few were still bleeding but most of them were deep. There was one wound that located in the thoracic cavity and was dangerously close to the heart and lungs. Disregarding the conversation entirely Naoki started to remove parts of the informants shirt until she had gotten the whole thing off. It was a few moments later that she realized the two were staring at her. “All you had to do was ask.” The masked informant said quietly with a trace of mischief in her tone. The interrogation shinobi just seemed annoyed. “Can’t that wait?” He asked snobbishly. Naoki bristled. Every shinobi in the village thought their job was more important than hers until one of their own or they themselves were injured. Naoki didn’t ask for much but time with her patient and respect, she was getting very little of either at that point. “No.” She said tonelessly and continued with her work.
Once she had the shirt removed she realized that debris and part of the kunai that had stabbed her were still in the wound and had already started an infection. Realizing that the informant needed surgery as soon as she was done with her report, Naoki cleaned the rest of her wounds, and waited for it to be over with. When the report was finished Naoki called for a stretcher and some more medics. Mai (that was what the informant called herself) looked like she was about to protest when Naoki leveled her with a stare. “You have an infected chest wound that should have been operated on days ago. Your fever is already spiking dangerously. Whoever gave you first aid couldn’t take out the broken parts of kunai for fear you would bleed to death but you should have received more extensive treatment immediately. So you will not be walking or in your case limping to the hospital, you will be carried by a stretcher.” Mai nodded again seemingly amused despite her predicament and allowed herself to be put on the stretcher and carried to the hospital.
Mai watched impressed as the medic that had treated her wounds ordered the others so that they she was treated as quickly and efficiently as possible. When the woman had first walked in Mai had mistaken her as a timid and almost incompetent medic but once she had started treating her wounds efficiently and without regards to the conversation Mai saw her for what she truly was… a prodigy. The girl was probably only a year or two older than her and Mai hadn’t found a medic yet that tried to order the younger girl around. When encountered with a messenger she left for a while and let others take over in Mai’s preparation for surgery. But it seemed as if everyone in the hospital followed her every command despite her young age. As Mai was left in a room to change into a hospital gown and get ready for surgery the medic stayed with her. “If you wouldn’t mind, it would make it easier for us if you removed your mask.” Naoki sensed that the mask was important to Mai and she didn’t want to force herself onto the other by taking the mask off while she was under anesthesia. Mai looked up and nodded, releasing her mask and letting herself sigh. It had been ages since she had taken her mask off and although it still felt strange to have it off it was strangely freeing. Naoki saw Mai’s face and smiled. Mai seemed more relaxed without it and it was always easier to treat a patient when they were relaxed. Naoki helped Mai change and was about to go and get herself ready for surgery when Mai spoke up. “I’m sorry but I didn’t get the chance to catch your name.” She asked in a quiet yet strong voice.
Naoki about face palmed. Mai was the second person she had done this to. Old habits die hard. “I’m sorry,” she chuckled, “it seems I never give people my name. I’m Naoki and I’ll be your doctor.” She said as she walked out of the door and went to gown up. The surgery was by no means the longest Naoki had been in but it wasn’t exactly short. Especially since she hadn’t gotten sleep the day before and then it had only been a few hours on her desk before she had been called in to treat the Kazekage for his illness. Sleeping at her desk was not exactly restful. She had been running since then and was called to treat him again just before she had gotten Mai into surgery. It seemed as if Diachisama was in an extremely poor mood and Naoki would be sentenced to another night shift so her superior could get some sleep before he was unleashed upon the hospital once more in all his angered fury. She changed and then prepared herself for another night without sleep.